Thursday, February 28, 2013

PTI's Snowflake Flurries set caught my eye the first day I saw it. The cards I've made with it do not use it as snowflakes--just pretty images. As part of the Splitcoaststampers Christmas Card Challenge I've set a goal to make 3 Christmas cards per month, so this card uses the Let It Snow sentiment from the set. My design comes from the beautiful MUSE Challenge card this week by Deanna Jean. I used her layout & similar colors (minus the green) provided by Brilliance Pearlescent Poppy, Brilliance Pearlescent Coral, Vivid! Peach & Versafine Smokey Gray. I tried doodling a frame on some scratch paper & quickly decided to go with embossed lines instead--oh, it was bad! Good thing I buy gems on sale in big packages--I love to use as many as I want on a card. Thanks for stopping by. Check out the MUSE blog if you haven't yet. It's really neat that everyone gets to vote for the winners.

There's still plenty of time to enter my Blogiversary Challenge if you'd like to CASE one of my first year's cards. There are some great entries!

Tuesday, February 26, 2013

The current Impression Obsession challenge is What's Your Hobby. I love bird watching--in my backyard or when we're camping--in fact, I'm always looking for birds & keep track in my bird book when I see a new one or one I seldom see. Decided this was the perfect occasion to ink up a couple stamps I hadn't yet used: F13050, Nest Collage & D13038, Let Your Soul. The card front is also stamped with CC049, C-A-C Screen, very lightly inked with Distress old paper. I die cut a piece of white cardstock with Spellbinders Labels 10 & used cotton balls to cover it with brown, orange & green chalks. Then I stamped the image in Versamark & rubbed on black chalk. I added more brown & green to get the look I wanted & a touch of blue to the eggs. Then I used an applicator to add more green chalk to the leaves & brown to the nest. The quote is embossed on vellum & die cut using Spellbinders Labels 18 & a piece of K&Co brown printed paper is die cut with MFT's Dizzy Doily. I finished the card with a clear brown button, twine double bow & blue Stickles on the eggs. I'm also entering the challenge at Simon Says Stamp & Show.I'm so happy several people are participating in my Blogiversary Challenge & there's still plenty of time to CASE one of my first year's cards. I'm getting a lot of great ideas from the beautiful cards people are making--thank you all for taking the time!

Monday, February 25, 2013

I love participating in the PTI Blog hops & as soon as I saw this month's theme--monograms, I knew I had to get something made. I've always loved monograms & have quite a few old wood mounted letters. For today's card I chose this lovely one from JudiKins which is stamped in Versafine Onyx Black, clear embossed & a bit of Stickles is added to the white space of the "G"--can't get it to photograph. The black die cut is PTI Mat Stack 3 with the circle cut out using one of the Lifestyle Crafts Nesting Circles. The background on the card front is an image from PTI Year of Flowers Collection stamped in Versafine Smokey Gray. The layers are mounted with foam tape. Glad I'm off tomorrow so I can catch up on all the entries. Thanks for stopping by.

Sunday, February 24, 2013

I haven't played along with ODBD SLC in awhile & really wanted to this week since the challenge is to make an Easter card. I have their lovely Vine Cross stamp to use. Didn't expect to be down to the wire, but for some reason it took 3 tries to get the inking on the sentiment die cut good enough to use. The stickers by Cosmo Cricket are kind of funky, but I decided I like them. The dies are all Spellbinders & the background stamp is another one by ODBD called Vintage Border Background. The sponging is done with Distress Inks old paper & crushed olive. The cross & all the edges are done in my favorite gold--Delicata Golden Glitz. If you'd like to be part of an Easter or Spring card exchange, check out threads at the Flickr Love! group. One more thing--I'd love to have you join my challenge celebrating one year of blogging--details HERE. Thanks so much for taking time to visit--love reading your comments. I'll check out your work if you leave me a way to find it.

Saturday, February 23, 2013

Ashley's PTI MIM video really inspired me! I would never have thought to use felt for a pinwheel, but I loved hers so had to make a second card. I don't have a border die that was the right design for the trim, so I used Spellbinders Scalloped Rectangle & then cut the scalloped edges with my scissors. I got heavy handed with the glue & some bled through. Not to worry--gems to the rescue! The center is MFT mini rolled rose--I do so love that die, especially used with felt. Finally cut a piece of the dowel I bought for crafting years ago & covered it with brown silk ribbon. The wonderful sentiment is from PTI Floral Foliage & is stamped in Versafine Vintage Sepia. The dry embossing folder is by Tim Holtz. I'm also entering the challenge at A Passion for Papertrey since there are 2 fonts. Thanks for taking time to come by--I know you have a lot of choices & I so much appreciate your comments.

Hope you'll consider helping me celebrate the start of my second year blogging by entering my challenge. All the details are here & there's still plenty of time since it doesn't end until March 10.

Friday, February 22, 2013

I finally made a pinwheel, thanks to Ashley's video for the PTI MIM challenge this week. Until now I didn't know what I'd do with one after I made it. Ashley said she uses them like she would flowers, so that inspired me. I started with a mini pinwheel made from one of the squares you get from the PTI Take Three die. I stamped one side in Brilliance Pearlescent Coral using the tree top from the Floral Foliage set. The other side is stamped in Brilliance Pearlescent Lime using Background Basics: Geometrics. To embellish the center I used a pink sequin & lime brad. I bent up the ends like Ashley showed to do--really changes the appearance. This image from Lovely Leaves ties in with the green side of the pinwheel, so I stamped it a couple times in the green ink & colored the dots with a pink Gelly Roll pen. The Take Three die cut is dry embossed & then mounted with foam tape over the leaves & to the card front. Isn't this a great sentiment from Lovely Leaves? I stamped in Memento Gray Flannel & then traced over "brighter" with the same Gelly Roll pen. I think this qualifies as more than one font, so I'm also entering the challenge at A Passion for Papertrey where I was the lucky random drawing winner last week. I'd love to have you join my Blogiversary challenge--details HERE. You have until March 10, 8pm EST to CASE one of my first year's cards. Thanks for taking time to visit my blog. Enjoy the weekend.

Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Today is the 1st anniversary of my blog & I now have 50 followers--thank you everyone for your encouragement & support! As I start my second year I'm posting my card for the challenge at a new blog I've joined called Muse. Marion's bright & cheery card is this week's inspiration. I haven't really joined the Washi tape revolution, so I used stamps to make my strips. The little flower & star are from Penny Black's Sentiments set & the graphic image is from Penny Black's Puzzle Parts set. I really had fun making this card & hope you like it. The inks are Memento Dandelion, Cantaloupe & Teal Zeal and VersaMagic Mango Madness. The stickers are Recollection. I wanted the card to have a bit of "me" & not be a total copy of the inspiration, so I added flowers. The blue one is inked with the Teal Zeal & covered with Glossy Accents. The white one is MFT Mini Rolled Rose with a pearl in the center. The orange one is Recollections with a touch of Stickles yellow which is also added to the center of the blue flower & some of the little stamped ones.

Would you like to help me celebrate? How about a challenge? All you have to do is CASE one of my first year's cards. Then come back & leave a comment with a link to your blog or photostream showing your card. Don't forget to say which card you CASED. Challenge will end March 10 at 8pm PST. 3 winners will get a little prize from me. I'm so glad you stopped by & hope you'll consider entering my challenge.

Monday, February 18, 2013

The current Stampendous! challenge is Love is in the Air, the current PDCC challenge colors are carnation, mint & juniper & the Die Cut Divas challenge is Untraditional Valentines. Love when I can figure out how to combine challenges. I don't have a Stampendous! heart image so looked for one that could be made into a heart & found this swirl in the Bold Blossoms set which I simply stamped twice, side-by-side to make a pretty modern heart--at least that's what I see--LOL! The inks are VersaMagic Pink Petunia, Aloe Vera & Aegean Blue. Each image is die cut with Spellbinders Oval & matted with Spellbinders Classic Scalloped Oval & they're mounted with foam tape. Recollections clear alphabet stickers are mounted on a scrap of cardstock, trimmed & attached with foam tape--thought the font went well with the images. The embossing folder is Cuttlebug's Geometric Rings--love it's larger size! I used A Blog Named Hero's sketch--which appealed to me because of it's simplicity. Yah--one Valentine ready for next year! I'd love to hear what you think.

Saturday, February 16, 2013

I really like the basis of the new MUSE blog & want to participate as often as I can. Anyone can vote for their 3 favorite cards. I'm hoping it won't be a popularity contest & that lots of deserving people will get recognition. Unfortunately, I failed to note the deadline time to enter, so I'm too late to post the card I finished late last night. I was happy with the result, though, so that's always good! I used Therese's card as a sketch, used 2 colors plus white & colored one word of the sentiment. Just got Hero Arts Love Jar clear set & stamped the leafy branch in Brilliance Pearlescent Thyme & VersaMagic Aloe Vera. The sentiment is from my well-used HA Find Joy set & is stamped in Versafine Smokey Gray & Brilliance Pearlescent Sky Blue. The printed paper is from a DCWV stack that was a Christmas present & it's cut with a Spellbinders border die. Stickles Star Dust is added to the leaves & Baby Blue to the word "Joy". Finished off with a bit of lace & pearls. I'm putting it into the monthly Hero Arts challenge, since the strip of lace makes it qualify. Thanks for taking time to look & hope you're having a great weekend.

Thursday, February 14, 2013

Had a chance to make another card for PTI's 6th anniversary contest to make a card inspired by a favorite of one of the DT members. The black & cream one by Debbie immediately caught my eye. She said it's out of her creative zone, but it's right down my alley! Mine is a bit smaller card & I used different stamps, ribbon & no stitching, but it's pretty much a copy. I love how it came out--So nice when that happens! I used Versafine Black Onyx (can you tell it's my favorite black ink?!) on images from Through the Trees, Background Basics Text Style & The Sweet Life. I popped up the panel with the sentiment & added 3 small rectangle gems. Wishing everyone a love-filled Valentine's Day--& every day! Thanks for taking time to leave me a comment--so much fun hearing from you.

Wednesday, February 13, 2013

If you visited my Feb. 10th post you might remember I didn't have much crafting time for a good reason. We celebrated my 62nd birthday a couple days early by meeting hubby's daughter & her husband at a favorite restaurant on the Columbia River for an incredible Sunday brunch that included prime rib, made to order crepes, crab legs, a chocolate fountain, Mimosa--& about 100 other choices! Certainly was worth having a birthday! I'm kidding--in my business you learn to really appreciate every precious day and as Abraham Lincoln (my birthday twin) said: "It's the life in your years, not the years in your life that counts." Hubby surprised me yesterday with beautiful red roses for Valentine's Day saying he thought I might enjoy having them early while I'm off for a couple days. I considered the brunch to count for both, by I'm not complaining!

Now on to my card for today. I had this design in my head for a few week's but didn't sit down to make it until last night with the deadline today for the Impression Obsession Shades of Green challenge. Simple card that ended up taking 4 tries due to smudges, stamping the words upside down, etc. Finally got it right--Note to self--try creating when it's not almost midnight! I've been wanting to do the technique of masking & adding color as a background to an embossed image--love that look. This is my first card using IO stamps Three Little Twigs, E8829 & Marvelous, C5171. The twigs are embossed with Zing! Chestnut ep, the sponged color is Distress Inks crushed olive & shabby shutters & the quote is stamped in Versafine Vintage Sepia. Thanks for all the sweet comments & your friendship by computer over the past year. You make me smile!

Sunday, February 10, 2013

Yes, Sue, I'm in a CAS phase--LOL! Maybe I'll discover that's my strong suite--at least I've been happier with those cards lately. Not much time to craft today for a good reason that I will share later this week. I really love the PTI sketches for today's contest & I needed to make a birthday card to mail tomorrow. I hadn't yet used this small image from Lovely Layers & thought it'd be fun for the last sketch. I pulled out my little VersaMagic pads & picked 6 of them: Purple Hydrangea, Aquatic Splash, Pink Petunia, Aloe Vera, Ocean Depth & Malted Mauve. The sentiment is stamped in VersaFine Onyx Black & is from Quilled Elegance. I thought about adding embossed lines &/or ribbon & rounding corners but ended up with just some pearls. I hope my Flickr friend will like it. I'd love to hear if you would have done something different.

Saturday, February 9, 2013

With so many challenges out there I've been feeling overwhelmed trying to decide what ones I want to do. But it's never a question when there's a PTI challenge since I have such a huge wishlist! Today's 6th anniversary contest is to create a wrap, tag or gift packaging inspired by a photo on Pinterest or another site. With time short I just checked out Nichole's "Special Delivery" board & found this wonderful kraft, brown & white package. Immediately I thought of my Background Basics: Medallions stamp set I just used for the last card. Since I have lots of kraft bags saved from when a stamp store used to put purchases in them, I decided to make use of one. My tag qualifies for this week's MIM Diecut Double-Up--yah, 2 for 1! PTI announced today that they're going to carry Zing ep, which I love & have quite a few colors already, including the Chestnut I used today. The medallions were pretty easy to line up so I could get the length strips I needed. I've really gotten into felt flowers so I grabbed my brown & white felt & die cut a Spellbinders Blossom Three & the PTI Snowflake Flurries. The layers are glued together with fabric glue & a button tied with dark & light twine embellishes the center. For the tag I did the Double-Up with Spellbinders Reverse Wonky Rectangles & the tree from Trendy Tree Tops. I didn't layer it because I wanted the kraft bag to show through. The sentiment is from Lovely Layers. I had such fun putting this together & I'm really happy with the finished product--can't wait for an occasion to use it! Hope your weekend is going well. My thoughts are with those of you digging out from the East Coast blizzard--we're not complaining about our rain! Thanks for taking time to check out my blog.

Thursday, February 7, 2013

Limited crafting time this week as I added some hours at work. I've gotten used to my part time schedule & I don't like working 4 days in a row--spoiled, I know! I just remind myself it means a few more dollars to spend on stamping goodies! PTI is celebrating their 6th anniversary & the first contest doesn't end until the 15th. I still needed to get a Valentine made for my brother & SIL & I found just the inspiration I needed from Maile's wonderful CAS card. I finally opened my Background Basics: Medallions which I inked with Memento markers Lady Bug & Tangelo. I stamped on a Memory Box die cut heart. The sentiment is by A Muse Artstamps which I inked with the Tangelo marker, colored the little heart with the Lady Bug marker & added Glossy Accents. It was hard to decide what else to do, but I settled on some cascading pearls & gems in the same colors. The heart is popped up with foam tape. I'm thinking red & orange together make a non-traditional color scheme so I'm also entering this into the current Die Cut Divas challenge. Just realized this qualifies for the challenge at A Passion for Papertrey--new blog I recently discovered. Thanks for coming by--I love reading what you think.

Sunday, February 3, 2013

I was playing some more with my Lumiere acrylic paints a few days ago. I swiped on too much Pearl Magenta for what I wanted to do but thought maybe I could punch out shapes later, so left it on my table. I really wanted to make a card for this week's ODBDSLC to use Valentine colors or hearts. I bought their "Hearts" stamp awhile back & hadn't yet inked it. The light went on--emboss the hearts on the painted paper! I used Zing Chocolate ep & then cut it out with a Spellbinders oval. There was enough painted area on the discarded piece that I re-stamped the roses, cut them out & mounted them with foam tape. I used COPICs to add a little color to the roses & the wreath. The brown printed paper is embossed with a Cuttlebug folder. I also hadn't yet used the Spellbinders Fleur de Lis Squares, but I needed a rectangle. I remembered seeing someone show that you can cut a die in half, spread it apart to the size you need & cover the center area. My brown ribbon was too narrow, so I used 2 strips & then added the piece of brown lace--worked great! The hearts & the brown mat are mounted with foam tape. One more Valentine ready to send to a card-making friend--yah!

It's Super Bowl Sunday in the US & I have a deal for you, Maria (matcat2002 in Maryland). If the Niners win I owe you a card (& a little stamping goodie) & if the Ravens win you owe me--what do you say?! GO NINERS!!